Flyers' Hextall Hires Son's Former Coach Hakstol as New Coach

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall hired Dave Hakstol, who previously coached his son Brett at the University of North Dakota, as the National Hockey League team’s new coach.

Hakstol, 46, spent the past 11 seasons coaching the Fighting Sioux in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, compiling an overall record of 289-143-43 with a .654 winning percentage in 475 games. This past season, he led North Dakota to a 29-10-3 record with a .726 winning percentage and a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four. He has never coached in the NHL.

“Dave brings a wealth of head coaching experience and success to the Philadelphia Flyers organization,” Hextall said in a statement. “He’s a proven winner and we are pleased to have him become part of the Flyers family.”

While at North Dakota, Hakstol coached 20 current NHL players, including Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, Los Angeles’s Matt Greene, St. Louis’s T.J. Oshie and New Jersey’s Travis Zajac. Brett Hextall, a 27-year-old right wing who played under Hakstol at North Dakota from 2008-2011, currently plays for the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

North Dakota made the NCAA tournament in each of Hakstol’s 11 seasons and reached the Frozen Four seven times in that span, the most of any school during that period.

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